Third party logistic companies and retail distributors need an end-to-end solution to monitor the condition and location of assets during all stages of shipment at configurable temporal resolutions. In most logistics and tracking applications, sensors on specific packages need to seamlessly move from one gateway (GW) network in, for example, a warehouse to another mobile GW network, for example, in a truck. Such transfers are generally managed by a cloud server, that communicates to each GW. However, at locations where the cloud might be inaccessible, this poses a problem.
Conventionally, sensor modules equipped with GPS trackers are attached to pieces of cargo, and tracked by a cloud-based system from end-to-end. This may be an expensive and cloud intensive approach, which relies on continual communications between smart tags and one or more cloud servers.
Moreover, it is noted that existing wireless sensor network protocols restrict scalability and demand greater radio activity than is often feasible for dense low-power networks. Further issues arise from the interdependence of software, hardware, and energy. For example, the well-integrated ZigBee® PRO paired with a Contiki operating system has a large and complex software stack, demanding greater memory, processing, and energy from the hardware. While alternatives to 2.4 GHz, such as the LoRa Alliance™ embrace lower carrier frequencies and channel hopping for longer range, they also require larger antenna and lower data rates, as well as existing infrastructure.
Thus, while conventional solutions may suit small-scale consumer needs, they exhibit costly overhead for next-generation, resource-limited, pervasive networks and scalable/dense Internet of Things (IoT).